President's Message-Summer 2021

Thank you all who attended our Spring (Winter) 2021 Virtual Conference. It was a huge success with

such relevant topics! Although none of us anticipated that we would be doing virtual conferences all

year, we have learned so much through this time. I would like to extend a special thank you to the

convention committee, especially Tammy Stowers-Tonn, Rob Dixon, and Denise Meyer, for all of their

work and collaboration with the Illinois School Psychologists Association to pull off another fabulous

virtual conference. Save the date for the Fall Conference, October 27-29.

WSPA board committees have remained active and committed to serve and advocate for our profession,

from mental health to social justice to our legislative committee. They have been active in bringing

awareness and education to our state's mental health needs, creating honest dialogues around racism

and inequities, and getting our voices heard with our state legislators. We were also thrilled to award

Celine Santos in Twin Lakes #4 School District as Wisconsin's "School Psychologist of the Year!"

Congratulations, Ms. Santos, and thank you for all you do! You can find her video on the WSPA Facebook

page.

WSPA Long Range Planning (LRP) 2021 is on the books for June 16 th – 17 th . All WSPA members are

welcome to join us for Strategic Planning, Committee Projects, to create and review WSPA goals, create

budgets, and develop Long Range Plans to meet those goals. There will also be plenty of time to unwind,

relax, and have fun connecting. It is a wonderful way to take a mini-retreat after a long school year.

Because this event is so essential to WSPA, we invite all WSPA members to attend free of charge

(lodging and food are included when you register for free). If you are interested in attending LRP, please

feel free to reach out to us or visit our website for more information.

As this school year winds down, I have been inspired and encouraged by a group of fifth-grade students.

Their curiosity and experiences with mental health challenges unfolded into creating small groups

focused on hope. We are learning that hope isn't something that we are necessarily born with, but it is

something that we can learn. Hope is a protective factor, and those who live with more hope have

better outcomes with friendships, school, work, and general happiness. We are learning what we do and

don’t have control of and taking steps to influence those outcomes. Hope is positive feelings and

inspired action. We are learning that it is ok to struggle. We we all do, but we can add hope to our lives.

We are learning, as a Hong Kong Proverb says, "As long as we have hope, we have direction, the energy

to move, and the map to move by." I hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing summer!

WSPA-President